Bangladesh garment workers tour Europe to press demands
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Jahangir Alam, 24, worked at Spectrum for
two years as a knitting machine operator. As a result of the factory
collapse a broken bone in his back has caused him kidney and leg
problems. Standing for long periods of time is painful. Without
his income his family has had to begin selling off their possessions,
and now he worries that his father, who has health problems himself,
will have to take on more work.
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Workers from collapsed KarstadtQuelle, Carrefour supplier
still without adequate compensation
Feb 2006, Jahangir Alam and Nura Alam, two workers from the Spectrum
garment factory (Savar, Bangladesh), which collapsed on April 11, 2005,
will be visiting Europe February 8th through 19th to raise awareness
of the outstanding demands of the workers and their families in the
wake of this terrible tragedy.
Both men, survivors of the building collapse that killed 64 people,
injured over 70 and left hundreds jobless, will be meeting with European
trade unions, NGOs and representatives of the companies that were clients
of the factory.
“I would like to send my child to school,” said 29-year-old
Nura Alam, who lost his arm in the factory collapse. “But now I
cannot afford it. My wife, who also worked at the factory, hasn’t
been able to find a job, and now has to take care of me because of my
injuries, as well as our son.”
Jahangir Alam, 24 years old, and like Nura a knitting machine operator
at Spectrum, told the CCC that he still suffers pain from the injuries
he sustained in the collapse. Due to the loss of income his family has
had to sell off some of their possessions just to survive, and he fears
that his father, who suffers from health problems, will now have to
take on more work.
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Nura Alam, 29, lost his arm due to the collapse
of the Spectrum factory, where he worked as a knitting machine
operator. His main aim for making this trip to meet with Spectrum's
European clients is to see that the trust fund proposed to compensate
the families of the dead and those injured at Spectrum becomes
a reality.
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Companies that produced their goods at Spectrum and the adjoining Shahriyar
factory include KarstadtQuelle, Steilmann, New Yorker, and Kirsten Mode
(all based in Germany); Carrefour (France and Belgium); Cotton Group
(Belgium), Scapino (the Netherlands); and others. So far only the Spanish-based
Inditex, whose Zara brand was produced at the factory, has pursued the
development of a trust fund to properly compensate the injured workers
and families of those who perished at Spectrum, collaborating closely
on this with the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’
Federation (ITGLWF). Most of the other companies have yet to firmly
commit to pay into such a fund. Jahangir Alam and Nura Alam will be
meeting with several of these companies during visits to the Netherlands,
Belgium, France and Germany to push them to not only agree to join Inditex
in the trust fund and pursue just compensation for the workers, but
also to raise awareness of the need for sector-wide action to improve
health and safety conditions in the Bangladesh garment sector. According
to a recent study from the Bangladesh Institute for Labour Studies,
130 workers in the garment industry died on the job in 2005 and 480
were wounded. A comprehensive health and safety review (including an
assessment of the structural safety of all multi-storey garment factories)
and follow-up action measures have been called for by local unions and
NGOs since the collapse, and it is distressing that no actual progress
has been made on this issue.
“My main aim for this trip is to see that the trust fund becomes
reality,” said Nura Alam. “I want to let the companies know
that they are also responsible for what happened at Spectrum.”
Other outstanding demands in this case are severance payments. The
workers who have lost their jobs due to the factory collapse have a
legal right to severance pay in the amount of four months wages (plus
one month for each year worked) since the date of dismissal. Since none
of the workers have received an official letter from the company terminating
their employment, it appears that according to the law they are entitled
to salaries since April 11 (and then severance from the date of dismissal).
Some workers are also owed overtime payments.
Joining the two workers during this tour will be Khorshed Alam, a reseracher
with the Alternative Movement for Resources and Freedom Society (AMRF).
He has done extensive research on working conditions in the garment
sector in Bangladesh.
To arrange an interview with the workers while they are Europe, please
contact the CCC International Secretariat or the national-level CCCs
hosting the workers.
Tour schedule:
BELGIUM: February 8 –13, 19
For details contact Carole Crabbe
E-mail: carole@vetementspropres.be
Tel: +32 (0)10 43 79 60
FRANCE: February 14
For details contact Jean-Paul Arpier
E-mail: reseau-solidarite@peuples-solidaires.org
Tel: + 33 2 99 30 60 53
NETHERLANDS: February 15-16
For details contact Christa de Bruin
E-mail: christa@cleanclothes.org
Tel : +31-20-412-2785
GERMANY: February 17-18
For details contact Evelyn Bahn
E-mail: bahn@inkota.de
Tel : +49 - 30 - 42 89 111
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